Tales of Rune-Midgarts IV: The Tale of Lupi - The Wrathful Flame
by Thiji Higuri
Summary: The fourth chapter in the transitory series which details the events of the 12 characters' individual adventures. In honor of their victory, the Kafra Corporation has organized a small party in Amatsu for the Battle Vixens! Their leader, Lupi, however, only wishes to hone her skills for when the Frontier reopens, but the actions of a solitary man may give her the push she needs...


There have been tales of a beauteous island adorned with cherry blossom trees and uniquely-styled buildings. Across the sea from the mainland that is Rune-Midgarts, a sailor from long ago had come across this island after enduring a violent storm out at sea. To his fortune, however, he washed up on this island, which at first seemed foggy and riddled with hurricanes. As he explored the island, he had realized that it was a place much unlike the mainland, and that this exotic place should be known to all. As time passed, the sailor died of old age, but villagers found charts detailing his journeys in this undiscovered land years later, including the nautical route he took in order to reach it.

King Tristan Gaebolg III of Rune-Midgarts announced to his people that a generous reward would be given to those who were able to gather information regarding this mysterious new world that the sailor had found. Since then, adventurers, veterans, and even captains ventured out at sea to claim glory and fame – only to fail. An adventurer from Payon, however, took a ship and made the journey to the island _alone._ After braving harsh storms and choppy waters, he had made it to the island, studying it carefully for a considerable amount of time before he delivered a well-documented account of his travels to King Tristan III. The new route that the adventurer took would eventually become the official passage to reach the island. Time flew by, and people began to familiarize themselves with the land's exotic culture, and finally learned of its name – Amatsu.

Within this beautiful land blessed with spring lies a large pagoda-like structure which towers over the city. This is the home of the infamous _Battle Vixens_ guild, known well for their savagery in combat and peerless beauty – and more recently, the rivals of the acclaimed _White Trinity_ guild. It is morning time, and within their hideout, the _Vixens_ would receive a rude awakening by Lupi, the eldest of three other sisters; a fiery Knight with a temper to match, and leader of the _Battle Vixens_. Elua, the second youngest and an Elven Huntress of the wind, heard her elder sister swearing up a storm, which would alert Aege and Heal-Do, the second oldest and youngest sister respectively. Worried for their ever-distraught sister, the three would walk to her chambers to see what the problem was…

Elua: Hey, sister…?

Lupi, in anger: WHAT. IS IT?!

The Hunter stammered, much to Lupi's further annoyance.

Lupi: Spit it out already!

Heal-Do: We were just wondering why exactly you were yelling and swearing on a day like this.

Aege: Needless to say that it was getting kinda scary…

Cooling down for a moment, Lupi sighed and shook her head as she plopped down on her bed, staring at the ceiling…

Lupi: Sorry, sisters… this wait is just _stupid!_ It's killing me, even! I mean, _a whole year_ until the Emperium Frontier returns?!

Aege: This could be a good thing for us, sister!

Lupi, darkly: You'd better have a good explanation…

Completely intimidated in the Knight's tone shift, the Blacksmith suddenly loses all ability to speak for a short moment as Lupi glared daggers at her.

Heal-Do: We can, of course, train ourselves! We'll show the other guilds just how much better we've gotten since last year!

Elua, laughing nervously: Yeah! Exactly! What Heal-Do said!

Lupi: Hm… well, you're not wrong about _that…_

As they continued their conversation, the locals of Amatsu began to flock to the main area of the town, posting up fliers and chatting over some sort of festivities happening later. Heal-Do looked out the window to figure out what was happening in the town. Aege took notice as well and led her sisters outside to check on it. Once they made it outside, Lupi tore a flier from their front door of their home and inspected it…

Lupi: A _party?_ That's what all the commotion is over?

Elua, gasping as she yanks the flier from Lupi's hands: No way! Here, in Amatsu!

Aege: Oh, hell, yeah!

Heal-Do: I wouldn't mind a nice little outing!

?: That's right! You and _you_ four are the guests of honor!

 _Battle Vixens:_ Kafra Nora!

Enter the teal-themed Kafra celebrity with her entourage of colleagues falling in behind her.

Aege: I swear, you are everywhere at once.

Heal-Do: It's almost amazing how often we see you out and about, Miss!

Nora: Hey, we're here for _y'all!_ It's what the Kafra are meant to do: provide for adventurers 'n' citizens alike in this wonderful world we live in!

Lupi simply looked on in annoyed silence.

Elua: Miss Nora? If it's no trouble, can I ask what this whole event's for?

Nora: Sure, sweet thing!

Kafra Nora then gestured to the _Battle Vixens_ as if welcoming them, and her entourage would follow suit.

Nora: It's for y'all!

 _Battle Vixens: Us?!_

Nora: Of course! Or did you ladies already forget your victory over in Geffen?

Elua: Oh, yeah! We _did_ win that one!

Aege, patting Heal-Do on the shoulder: Baby Sister truly shone that day!

The Assassin blushed in embarrassment.

Heal-Do: You're too kind, Aege…

Elua: Everyone deserves a little fun in their lives! Even Lupi!

The Knight then turned to the Elven Hunter, surrounded by flames as a look of irritation made itself present upon her face.

Lupi: And what is _that_ supposed to mean…?!

Elua: WHOA!

Aege: Big Sis, I'm sure she didn't mean anything personal. And to be honest, these celebrations don't come very often; to have it happen now shortly after our victory is a blessing all its own!

Lupi, calming down: Whatever… but you're right about that. Fine, we'll go.

The other three sisters cheered happily as Nora and her crew applauded them.

Nora: It'll take place in the evening when the sun sets! So you've plenty of time to dress up and look nice! See y'all there!

Without another word, Aege, Elua and Heal-Do all rushed back inside, heading straight to their rooms to decide on what to wear for the coming party. Lupi, much to her annoyance, was out in the hall, watching the copious amounts of clothes fly past her, some of Elua's unmentionables occasionally hitting her in the face…

Heal-Do, scanning her closet: Why don't we try something blue? Oh… wait… that's right, everything in here _is_ blue!

Elua, frantically jumping around her room: Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! What should I wear?! What should I wear?!

Aege: Let's try something earthly. Yeah, that'll do it.

With a groan of disgust, Lupi retreated to her own room and sat down on her bed, her arms crossed. It was now a moment later when she heard numerous knocks on her door, which she immediately responded by springing to her feet and opening the door with such force that it slammed against the wall, causing sparks to fly from the impact. That same expression of annoyance was apparent on her face as she took a moment to look at her sisters in their party clothing.

Lupi, through gritted teeth: _What?_

Elua: Well, what is it, sis?

Aege: Pretty sexy, right?

Heal-Do: How do we look, Big Sister?

Lupi: You all want my honest opinion?

Aege, Elua and Heal-Do nod their heads in excitement. After a long pause, their elder sister would give her evaluation…

Lupi: … You all look like an absolute bunch of circus freaks.

Aege: Hey! Sister!

Elua: Now, that's just rude!

Lupi: Hey, you all wanted my honest opinion, so I gave it to you…

Heal-Do: So mean… I'm hurt, Lupi…

Elua, reassuring her baby sister: That's okay, dear! Lupi's just jealous because she knows we stomp her on the sexy scale!

The Huntress struck a nerve when Lupi took a step forward and fixated her attention to the Elf.

Lupi: You wanna run that by me again, Elua?

Elua: Yeah, you heard me! I'm not scared of you! You're totally envious of our luscious looking selves!

The Huntress struck a seductive pose, and Heal-Do and Aege would follow suit. The Knight scoffed and shook her head. Then, she would begin to chuckle for a moment before she went back to her serious persona…

Lupi: Listen here, _little girls –_ I'm not the eldest sister through just mere age differences! What _you_ ladies fail to realize is that _I_ was Mother's favorite! And I am gonna show. You. Why…

Walking back into her room, she slammed the door shut and left the other three alone. Meanwhile, outside the _Battle Vixens'_ Headquarters, a shadowy figure was seen behind a cherry blossom tree, gazing up to floor that the four sisters were…

?: So, there's word of a party to celebrate the _Vixens'_ glory, eh…? I wonder what the goods look like…

The shadowy figure performed a series of hand gestures and transformed into a cumulonimbus cloud, floating disarmingly toward one of the windows to get a closer look and noticed the three sisters in their party clothing.

All three of them wore oriental-styled clothing, but with distinct differences. Aege wore her hail in a long, braided ponytail and her clothing exposed only the underside of her chest, legs, her midriff, sticking to the Blacksmith theme. Heal-Do wore a blue qipao with white boots and donned spiked bracelets on her wrists; her hair is in a unique style known as "ox horns". Elua wore an emerald green, strapless dress with a white butterfly printed on the skirt, matching pull-on sleeves, stockings, heeled boots, and a bright green obi tied in a bow around her waist.

"Wow…! This is rather impressive, I must say…" the "cloud" had said to itself. "But what about…"

Just then, Lupi's door to her room opened. What her sisters beheld made their eyes widen with incredible shock and awe. Luxurious red hair with sidebangs covering her left eye; seductive ruby eyes with long dark lashes and shimmering lavender eyeshadow; a scarlet sequined strapless dress revealing a great deal of cleavage, a low back, sweetheart neckline and high thigh slit; matching red pumps, opera gloves, and ruby stud earrings.

"You little girls have a _long_ road to travel before you can hold a candle to me," Lupi spoke in a soft, dulcet tone. That such a marvel of feminine beauty stood before them made the surrounding area increase in temperature that everyone began to sweat profusely. The "cloud" that was spectating was so stunned that the disguise would break prematurely and send the figure plummeting back down to earth, undoubtedly sure that he's seen Heaven.

Heal-Do was speechless. Aege couldn't even get a single word out behind her stammering voice. Elua swore she felt herself shrinking before the overwhelming beauty of her elder sister.

"I… I take that back…" the Huntress whimpered. Lupi hummed a tune to herself and turned gracefully on her heel as she made her descent down the pagoda. As the other sisters followed Lupi, the sun had nearly set over the land. The shadowy figure from before snapped back into reality and made his escape before any of the _Battle Vixens_ took notice.

As twilight fell, the Kafra Corporation had arrived to Amatsu via boat and had immediately begun setting up the atmosphere, and Nora was spearheading the entire operation. With her leadership they were able to set up the ribbons, party favors, and other accoutrements as Amatsu's citizens gathered to celebrate their resident guild.

"Ladies 'n' gentlemen, boys 'n' girls! Welcome to the Kafra-hosted victory party!" announced the teal Kafra. "We're here tonight to celebrate your awesome heroines of the Emperium Frontier: the gorgeous, the dangerous – _Battle Vixens!"_

The partygoers gave a loud cheer and generous applause. It was not too long after until everyone began cavorting with each other, drinking and sharing jokes amongst them. As the _Vixens_ made their presence known, they immediately became the center of attention. Eventually they would be swarmed by packs of male partygoers. Heal-Do was receiving compliments left and right for her costume and hair, but she told them all that she already had her eyes set on another person, which made them all faint from heartbreak.

Lupi was having her own share of raving "fans" as she flipped her hair in response to their advances, driving the boys wild. Elua and Aege were shrugging away numerous offers to dance, either regarding that they already have a dance partner (Elua & Mukuhawk), or simply replying "Not interested". The Master of Ceremonies (whom was again Kafra Nora) came down and slowly made her way to the _Vixens_ while she welcomed everyone once more to the party.

"Goooooood evenin', Amatsu!" Nora announced in her usual fashion. "We're comin' to you live at the beautiful town of Amatsu! To commemorate the end of the Emperium Frontier, the Kafra Corporation has arranged a party right here in honor of the _Battle Vixens'_ decisive victory against a 3-way battle between them, _White Trinity,_ and _Holy Saviors!_ And here come our guests 'o' honor now!"

She and her crew made their way to the four sisters, bursting with excitement for a surprise interview with the femme fatales…

Nora: Hey, _Vixens!_ Mind if we have a word?

 _Battle Vixens:_ Sure!

Nora: Wonderful! Think ya can share us your opinions regardin' the Emperium Citadel? How're you feelin' right now?

Lupi, wrapping an arm around Heal-Do: Glad you asked! The Emperium Citadel was a fierce battle indeed. But thanks to our darling baby sister, Heal-Do here, she helped us take the win from the other two guilds!

Nora: Nice! Heal-Do, any thoughts you'd like to share?

Heal-Do, recovering from her blush: Well, you see… it wasn't easy getting it, the Sapphire Emperium… when it came down to the wire, I had to take control of the situation.

Nora: And what about the earth-shatterin' Blacksmith, Aege?!

Aege, holding up the peace sign: It was one hell of a struggle, but when the going gets tough, the tough always get going! And we've proven to be the _toughest!_

Elua: Indeed! I'm very happy that our baby sister was able to nab that stone at the nick of time! Truth be told, I was worried we would lose yet another fight, but she came through for us in the end! The _Battle Vixens'_ time has come once more; now we know that _White Trinity_ is not invincible!

The partygoers gave a cheer in response to Elua's little rally, accompanied by whistles and applause.

Nora: You heard it, folks! From the mouths of the victors themselves, truly inspiring words from the _Battle Vixens!_ Come on down to this land blessed with spring and join the festivities, and even get the honor of meeting the _Vixens_ in person!

Amidst the revelry and cheering, from the shadows was the strange figure again, his body discharging small sparks of electricity as his gaze was fixed on the party…

"You know, at first I wanted to see the _Battle Vixens'_ goods," said the shadowed man, "But now I think they need to be taught a little lesson in humility."

The electricity danced around him with increased intensity as clouds began to form over Amatsu. Meanwhile, Elua was continuing to boast the exploits of her and her sisters…

"So, that Wizard guy Thiji got out of the waters, right?" the Huntress began. "Then Lupi grabbed him by the collar and gave him a personal dose of _Battle Vixen_ courtesy, then _booted_ him in the face, and sent his icy behind back into the drink! Best rush I've felt in years!"

Moments later, unbeknownst to them, the clouds had completely darkened the town, leaving the partygoers in a state of fear. Before the _Battle Vixens_ even had time to acknowledge the phenomenon, a massive bolt of lightning crashed down upon the party, ultimately ruining the decorations, decimating the party favors, and otherwise utterly trashing the area in a storm of cherry blossom petals.

On the opposite end was the shadowed figure, a sly smirk across his face as he hid behind another tree. After the dust settled, everyone save for Lupi had risen to their feet. Her sisters tried to help her out, but she only opened her eyes as an expression of great frustration was made apparent on her face. Her hair was ruffled; her dress was in tatters; her makeup had been blemished, and her beauty – which the _Vixens_ prize above all else – was shattered.

"Who. Ruined. My. Dress?" the Knight articulated.

From Lupi's rage, flames would swirl around her as her Hellfire Lance began to undergo a monumental change. The weapon completely broke, leaving behind its elemental essence. A _new_ weapon began to take form in Lupi's right hand; a blood red lance with a four-pronged serrated blade formed around the base – The Flareripper Lance it would later be called. The weapon pulsated a bright orange as it was drawn. As for Lupi, her elemental dominion over fire was augmented through an earring born from the essence of flame which appears on and dangles from her left ear.

The shadowed figure watched with interest as Lupi rose to her feet and then her lance in the air. He then noticed that Kafra Nora and her crew were still there as well and gasped.

"Oh, shit," he swore under his breath.

Nora quickly sprung to her feet and got her colleagues up.

"Nora, what are you -?" Pavianne exclaimed as she was being rushed to her feet.

"Pav, I'm gonna tell you now that we ain't got time for questions!" Nora warned. "We need to leave _– NOW!"_

Without another word Nora used her executive powers to teleport her colleagues and finally herself away from absolute harm. Meanwhile, Lupi would begin striking down on the partygoers, exhibiting her newfound command over fire as flames roared and danced around the area.

"Big sister is mad…" Heal-Do sighed. Elua nodded.

"All we can do now is watch," Aege stated. "It's too late to run – at least for the partygoers."

" _IT'S TIME FOR THIS FIRE TO BURN, YOU INGRATES!"_ Lupi roared with maniacal laughter.

All that followed after were screams, burning things, and the laughter of a power-drunk Knight of searing flame. Aege, Elua and Heal-Do simply stood there with the blankest expressions as they watched Lupi bring destruction to the party and the surrounding area. The shadowed figure ran off, barely able to contain his laughter despite being the catalyst to discovering Lupi's newfound strength.

Lupi's rampage lasted for about an hour until everything was reduced to nothing but a smoldering, burning – literally hot – mess. The sisters return home and meet with Lupi in her chambers.

"Wow! That was indeed an interesting party! You were right, Heal-Do! That was an incredible load of fun! I'll definitely consider going more often!" the female Knight complimented as she patted their baby sister on the back. "Now, let's get some sleep, shall we, ladies? _Sayonara!"_

Ignoring her still-ransacked appearance, Lupi happily strutted back into her room and closed the door behind her, leaving the other three sisters alone – their blank expressions still made apparent as they _stared_ at the door that led into her room.

" _What a marvelous experience I had today…!"_ Lupi cheerfully said in her mind before closing her eyes to rest and prepare for the coming days.

 _The Tale of Lupi - End_


End file.
